Electrically operated coin box device



April 5, 1966 D. B. POYNTER 3,243,914

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED COIN BOX DEVICE Filed Aug. 5, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 5, 1966 D. B. POYNTER 3,

ELEGTRICALLY OPERATED COIN BOX DEVICE Filed Aug. 5, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2 I g f [15 .TT P 1 .\'I 4 E 46? J L J.

United States Patent 3,243,914 ELECTRICALLY OPERATED COIN BOX DEVKZE Donald B. Poynter, 7 Arcadia Place, Cincinnati, Ohio 45208 Filed Aug. 5, 1955, Ser. No. 477,536 Claims priority, application Japan, Aug. 15, 1%4, 39/ 46,838 4 Claims. (Cl. 46-3) This invention relates to an electrically operated coin box device which can be used both as a toy and a saver for coins.

It is an object of the present invention to provide entertainment and amusement for people by providing an electrically operated coin box device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrically operated coin box device which serves as a saver for coins.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an electrically operated coin box device described above which is portable, simple in operation, fantastic and uncanny in action, and which can be manufacteured and sold at a reasonable cost.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. This invention itself, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an electrically operated coin box device according to the invention, illustrating the operation wherein the lid is opened and a coin is being grasped by a hand reaching out of the box.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of one embodiment of the invention, showing its inside mechanism at rest;

FIGURE 3 is a partly cut away plan view of the device shown in FIGURE 2 from which a casing has been removed.

FIGURE 4 is a diagram of an electrical circuit employed in the embodiment;

FIGURE 5 is a side view of one form of an alternative hand driving means which may be substituted for the corresponding means shown in FIGURES 2 and 3.

In FIGURES 1 to 3, like portions or parts are designated with like numerals.

Referring now to the drawings there is shown a casing 1 of a cubic shape which is made of plastics, said casing 1 having no bottom wall and detachably mounted on a base plate 2 on which a gear box 3 and a dry cell box 4 are fixedly mounted. The gear box 3 is provided with a motor 5 therein which drives the last axle 12 having a gear through the medium of a train 11 of gearings which comprises a pinion 6 and gears 7, 8, 9 and It said axle 12 being provided on one end thereof with a cam 13 having a lug 14 and having on about the middle thereof a disk 15 of metal which has an insulator 16 on one side thereof, said axle 12 also having a cam wheel 17 for producing a self-shaking motion of the whole box and which aforesaid component combined features comprise actuating means in the box operated by the motor.

3,243,914 Patented Apr. 5, 1966 Numeral 18 indicates a supporting rod transversally and pivotably fixed through side walls of the gear box 3. Indicated by 19 is an operating arm or closure engaging member pierced and pivotably supported by said rod 18 at its one end and having a projection 21 for engaging and opening the lid 27, a hand or grasping means simulating model 24} and a lug 22 projecting towards the gear box 3 so as to engage with the lug 14 of the cam 13. Said rod 18 is bent and extended in the obliquely upward direction by way of a space between stoppers 24 and 24 projecting outwardly from the top of said gear box 3, and again bent and extended inwardly until its free end 18 crosses the operating arm 19 so that it can be interlocked with a stepped portion 23' of an interlocking member 23 upwardly projecting from and fixedly mounted on said operating arm 19. It is noted that the range of the pivoting of said rod 18 is restricted by means of said two stopper-s 24 and 24 in order to restrict the range of the pivoting of said operating arm 19, whereby said arm 19 is prevented from excessive turning towards a coin (I placed in a coin holder 26 formed with a projection provided adjacent one edge of a top wall I of said casing 1 and enable the coin to he grabbed soft by the hand 24 When at rest, the operating arm 19 is kept retained, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, at its starting position by means of a spring 25.

The hand simulating model or grasping means 20 is made of elastic and durable materials, such as rigid rubbers, plastics etc. and has a slit 26, so that it may firmly grab the coin a placed in the coin holder 26 provided on said top wall 1' of the casing 1. As shown in FIGURES l and 2, the casing 1 has a fiat lid 27 which is pivotably mounted thereon and pivoted about the axis of a pin 28, and when at rest, it is kept closed by means of a spring 29. Underneath the coin holder 26 there are provided contactors 3t) and 36} which are fixedly mounted on a board 31 of insulating material, so that an electrical circuit may be closed by placing a coin in said holder 26. The electrical circuit to which said contactors 3t) and 30-, said disk 15, an elongate spring plate 32 and dry cells 33 in a battery box 4 are connected is diagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 3. In this connection, it is noted that when at rest, that is to say when the device is not in use, said plate 32 is in contact with the insulator 15 of the disk 15 and the circuit is open. When a coin is placed in said holder 26 formed with said projection having a generally inclined upper surface, electrical contact between said cont actors 3t and 30 connected into a power circuit I is made through the medium of the coin a and electric current fiows through the circuit, and the motor 5 starts rotating. As the motor 5 starts to rotate, the disk 15 of metal is rotated and the elongate spring plate 32 is detached from the insulator 16, and a holding circuit II is closed in order that the motor 5 may continuously be rotated until the plate 32 touches the insulator 16 and the circuit II is broken even after the coin a has been removed from the holder 26 by the hand 20.

As may be seen from FIGURES 2 and 3, there is provided a crooked elongate plate 35 for shaking or jumping the casing 1, said plate 35 being pivotably supported by a pivot pin 34 and, at its one edge lightly touched with the surface of the cam gear 17, while the opposite edge of which extending downwardly and projecting slightly through a hole 36 of said base 2, as shown in FIGURE 2.

3 Indicated by numeral 37 in FIGURES l and 2 is a cover sheet which covers the inside of the casing 1.

Referring now to FIGURE 5, there is shown one alternative hand driving means comprising a cam 38 having a pin 45, a link 39 having a hooked portion 44, an elongate hole 42 and a guide shaft 43. The guide shaft is supported at an upper portion of a gear box 3' and inserted into said elongate hole 42 of said link 39 so as to support and guide the link. A hand simulating model 40 is, as shown in the drawing, mounted on a projection projecting forwardly from and integrally formed with said link 39 which is bent at its base in the upward direction and which has a projection 41. The hand 40 is driven in such a manner that when a coin a is placed in a coin holder 26 and a motor, not shown, starts rotating, the cam 38 is rotated and the pin 45 of the cam 38 comes into engagement with the hooked portion 44 of said link 39 to raise and advance the link with said hand 40 and then, the moment the hand has reached out and grabbed the coin, said pin 45 is released from said hooked portion 44 and the hand is retracted quickly with the link by means of a spring, not shown.

Thus, as may be seen from the foregoing description, when a coin a is placed in said coin holder 26 and the motor 5 starts rotating, the last axle 12 and the cam 13 fixedly mounted on one end thereof are rotated with reduced speed, and the casing 1 starts shaking or jumping with a grinding of gears as though it contains a hidden genie therein, and then, the lid 27 is slowly raised and opened by the hand advancing towards the coin a firstly, then by the projection 21 of the operating arm 19 secondly, and finally, the hand reaches out, grabs the coin a firmly and quickly pulls it inside of the casing 1, when the lid is shut with a slam by means of the spring 29. It is noted that the shaking or jumping motion of the casing is caused by jumping motion of the elongate plate 35 as effected and imparted by rotation of the cam gear 17 with which one edge of the plate 35 is lightly touched, the opposite edge of the plate downwardly extending and slightly projecting through the hole 36 of the base plate 2 being in loose contact with the surface of a desk, floor, etc., on which the box'device is put and striking against the surface thereof during operation. It is noted further that the moment the hand 20 has grabbed the coin a, the cam 13 is released from the operating arm 19 and the latter is quickly retracted inside of the casing 1, together with the hand 20 holding the coin a and that the coin held by the hand 20 is dropped down into the casing 1 by coming into collision.

with the supporting rod 18 on its way being pulled inside of the casing 1. In the meantime, the uncanny shaking motion of the casing 1 continues until the motor 5 stops rotataing. The casing 1 and hand 20 may be colored appropriately. In the aforementioned embodiment of the present invention the casing 1 is colored black and the hand 20 blue.

Thus, the coin box device as described, according to the present invention, is very simple in operation, attractive in appearance, uncanny in action, and which can be used both for a toy and a little portable saver for coins, and furthermore, it can be manufactured and sold at a reasonable cost. Moreover, the device can be handled very easily even by children. It will gladly take any coin, such as penny, nickel or dime, as long as they are of conductive material and of common shape. It is a very interesting device and will highly be contributive to savings of money.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that the embodiment has been given only by way of example and I do not limit myself to the precise construction herein disclosed and that changes, omissions, additions, substitutions and/or other modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A box with an opening through which a coin, or the like is retracted, and through which coin grasping means is projected and retracted, including:

(a) a movable closure means normally closing said opening;

(b) means for holding a coin or the like exteriorly of the box adjacent said opening;

(c) means within the box for grasping a coin in said coin holding means; 7

(d) means in the box operatively connected with the coin grasping means to open said closure means and 1 move the coin grasping means exteriorly of the box through the opening to coin grasping position;

(e) said last mentioned means also eifecting the retraction of the coin grasping means to a position in the box and eifecting closing of the opening by said closure means.

2. A box as defined in claim 1, wherein a closure member engaging means is operatively connected with said coin grasping means and movable therewith for precluding closing of said closure member until after a coin has been grasped and deposited in the box.

3. A box with an opening through which a coin grasping means is projected and retracted including:

(a) a movable closure means normallyclosing said opening;

(b) means including spaced electric contacts for bolding a coin exteriorly of the box adjacent said open- (0) means within the box for grasping a coin in said coin holding means;

(d) electric motor means in said box;

(e) a source of electric power in electrical connection with said motor and said contacts;

(f) actuating means in the box operated by said motor and mechanically operatively connected with the coin grasping means to open said closure means and move the coin grasping means exteriorly of the box through the opening to coin grasping position by means of a coin placed in said coin holding means to engage said contacts for closing a circuit to and initiating operation of said motor; (g) said actuating means also effecting retraction of the coin grasping means to a position in the box and allowing the closure means to close the opening;

(h)v and means actuated by the initial operating of said motor for maintaining an electrical circuit to said motor at least until the coin grasping means has been retracted in the box, and then breaking said circuit.

4. A box with an opening through which a coin grasping means is projected and retracted including:

(a) a movable closure means normally closing said opening;

(b) means including spaced electric contacts for holding a coin exteriorly of the box adjacent said open- (c) movable means within the box for grasping a coin held in said coin holding means including a closure engaging member spaced therefrom and movable therewith;

(d) electric motor means in said box;

(e) a source of electric power in electrical connection with said motor and said contacts;

(f) actuating means in the box operated by said mo- 5 6 (g) said actuating means being activated by means of References Cited by the Examiner a coin placed in said coin holding means in engage- UNITED STATES PATENTS ment with said contacts for closing a circuit to and initiating operation of said motor;

(h) said actuating means also effecting retraction of 5 z the coin grasping means and the closure engaging 4 gig: member to a retracted position in the box allowing the closure means to close the opening; OTHER REFERENCES (i) and means actuated by the initial operating of said German Printed Application No. 1,004,838, 3/1957.

motor for maintaining an electrical circuit to said T motor at least until the coin grasping means has been RICHARD PINKHAM P'lmary Exammer' retracted in the box, and then breaking said circuits. BOVASSO, Assistant Examinerl,599,965 9/1926 Heimer 46-146X FOREIGN PATENTS 

1. A BOX WITH AN OPENING THROUGH WHICH A COIN, OR THE LIKE IS RETRACTED, AND THROUGH WHICH COIN GRASPING MEANS IS PROJECTED AND RETRACTED, INCLUDING: (A) A MOVABLE CLOSURE MEANS NORMALLY CLOSING SAID OPENING; (B) MEANS FOR HOLDING A COIN OR THE LIKE EXTERIORLY OF THE BOX ADJACENT SAID OPENING; (C) MEANS WITHIN THE BOX FOR GRASPING A COIN IN SAID COIN HOLDING MEANS; (D) MEANS IN THE BOX OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH THE COIN GRASPING MEANS TO OPEN SAID CLOSURE MEANS AND MOVE THE COIN GRASPING MEANS EXTERIORLY OF THE BOX THROUGH THE OPENING TO COIN GRASPING POSITION; (E) SAID LAST MENTIONED MEANS ALSO EFFECTING THE RETRACTION OF THE COIN GRASPING MEANS TO A POSITION IN THE BOX AND EFFECTING CLOSING OF THE OPENING BY SAID CLOSURE MEANS. 